Beyond Time and Space
by BadgerWolf97
Summary: It's only been a few months after the events of Through Time and Space, and already Violet and Vincent have to set off again. This time, back to the home they left far behind after a terrible tragedy struck it. Little do they know just how much they are going to face once they get there.
1. Chapter 1: Dearest Guardian

**It begins! Okay, so this one is the story I've been wanting to do. It takes place after _Through Time and Space_ so if you haven't read that one yet, do that (It's only like 12 chapters anyway). Hopefully I can stretch this one out properly. The plots in this one are my own, as are Violet and Vincent and a few others. Oh, and I _guess_ I should mention that later on there will be some gay sh*t, as in two male characters that are in love, so if that kinda stuff bugs you...get lost. *Evil laughter***

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"_My dear guardian…precious child of mine… There is something you must do. It is of great importance…"_

Violet stirred in her sleep then lay still for a moment. Her green eyes flickered open. The room was very dark, but she could see the moonlight shining through the window, beckoning to her silently. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Those voices…Artemis? She climbed out of the bed and went to the window. There was nothing but a strange desire to go outside. She turned away and went to the door.

The hallways were dark and quiet. This building was cold and strange. It belonged to that peculiar human agency they referred to as GUN. Rouge had suggested for the wolf to join the agency, but Violet did not wish to be officially associated with such a group. She only stayed because her friends were here and she really had no where else to go. Besides, Rouge had insisted that their staying here was only temporary, but it had been a while now. Violet could even find her way easily through the pitch blackness to whatever her destination was. She memorized the building, at least the places they allowed her to go.

She exited the cold building to a large garden located in the middle of several other buildings, all connected in a big square. The garden was the only place here that she liked. There was a large pond in the center with a wooden bridge that arched over it. The pond was surrounded by weeping willows and cherry blossoms, and many plants and flowers filled up the corners. Most of the place was shaded by the trees, aside from a spot in the middle of the bridge.

Violet listened to the sound of frogs croaking as she walked around the pond towards the bridge. She stepped lightly across the bridge and stopped at the center where the moonlight shone down, and looked up at the bright full moon.

"_Dearest guardian…" _the voices whispered around her. It was as if the moon itself was speaking down to her. _"There is something you must do…"_

"What is it?"

"_Return…to Tir na Nog."_

Violet tensed.

"_I know it seems cruel…but you must return. You must collect my wisps."_

"You mean the guardian wisps? Why are they there?"

"_They are part of the aftermath of Crann na Beatha's death. Little memories that are lost. You must go and collect them. They are a part of my power…a part of Crann na Beatha's power. If collected by someone fueled by Malice…"_

"I see…" Violet looked down at the fish swimming in the water. "I…don't know if I can relive that."

"_My precious child…I understand. But you must…For I cannot yet return. Also…I will have your brother return as well."_

She looked back up at the shinning moon. "Vincent? How is he? Can you see him too?"

The voices laughed gently. _"Of course my child. Always… Will you return home and take what is rightfully yours?"_

"Yes Artemis. I will return to Tir na Nog and collect the wisps."

"_You must be careful on your way… Malice is rising…preparing to return as well. That is why I am returning. Remember…do not fear the dark, for my light will guide you."_

The voices had faded away and the sounds of frogs filled the night air. Violet walked the rest of the way across the bridge then returned to her room. Going back to Tir na Nog… This was something she had hoped she would never have to do. There was no way that she could do such a thing on her own.

.

There was a knock at the door and Violet groaned and covered her head with the bed sheets. It was already morning? Who in the world was knocking anyway?

"Violet!" She recognized Rouge's voice. "Wake up already! It's almost noon!"

"Noon?" she sat up suddenly and looked out the window.

.

Violet and Rouge sat together in the garden on a pale wooden swing that hung from the boughs of a tree. There was a stone path that separated the tree from the edge of the pond. Dragonflies were skimming the top of the water, teasing the fish that tried to snatch them up but were too slow.

"It's not like you to sleep late," Rouge said after taking a sip of tea. "You're not even drinking your tea. It'll get cold you know."

Violet's ear twitched slightly and she carefully brought the cup to her lips. She stared out at the surface of the pond, not really looking at anything. "I have to leave."

"Leave?" Rouge looked surprised. "Where are you going?"

"Artemis spoke to me last night. I…have to do something back at my old home."

"How long will you be gone?"

Violet shook her head. "I don't know. I just have to go back and collect some things for Artemis. It'll take longer to get there than to actually preform the task." She went quiet for a long moment, a distant look in her eyes. "I promised Artemis that I would, but…I couldn't possibly go back there again. Not on my own. Artemis said that Vincent will be meeting me there, but I don't even want to travel there."

"Hm…" Rouge thought for a moment. "Do you know which direction it is from here?"

"Unfortunately…" Violet replied. "North-east."

"Well, there's something I have to look into," she fiddled with a device on her wrist. "Looks like I'll be heading in that general direction myself. We could travel together, but we'd have to split at some point along the way I'm sure."

"Mm."

They sat quietly for a few minutes listening to the birds singing in the trees. "You know," Rouge smirked, "I don't think Shadow has anything planned. You could ask him to go with you."

Violet winced ever so slightly. "I don't think I could handle the awkward silence. I'd rather take my chances with a hungry bear."

"Says the girl who can talk to wild animals."

"That's not how it works…"

"Please," Rouge rolled her eyes. "At least you wouldn't be alone. Also, if you would happen to get in any trouble…"

"I can take care of myself," she suddenly sounded defensive, but Rouge only smirked again.

"You can be so stubborn," she told her. "Fine, don't ask."

"I won't."

Later that day, Violet was sitting in a large armchair in the corner of her room while she thought about the journey ahead. There was a knock at the door. "It's unlocked," she called.

She wasn't surprised when Rouge entered. The bat closed the door then seated herself, legs crossed, at the edge of the bed. "Not packing?"

"What do I have to pack?"

She shrugged. "Can't that moonstone necklace carry all kinds of things?"

"Yeah," Violet said, "but you know, there's kind of a living entity residing in there now. I think it might be a bit rude to just drop some random things in there. I mean, I do have basic medical supplies stored in it."

"That's handy." Rouge was smiling. "Oh, since I knew you wouldn't, I went ahead and asked Shadow to accompany you to your homeland."

"You did what?!"

"Relax, he knows you don't actually want him to go with you."

"Then why is he going?"

"Because I asked him to," Rouge shrugged. "Because I told him that no matter how stubborn you were about it, I didn't want you going alone to some place you don't want to go. Besides, what if something happens and you're all alone out there? You're my friend you know!"

Violet shrunk back in her chair a bit. "Oh…"

"Anyway, we should head out as soon as possible. How about the day after tomorrow?"

There was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, almost like nausea. So soon? "Yeah…" she said quietly and stared at the floor. "We might as well."

**To be continued…**

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**Things to know:**

**Tir na Nog and Crann na Beatha are Gaelic. They translate to Field of Youth and Tree of Life.**

**When Artemis speaks, it sounds like several voices whispering all together, both male and female. A male voice being the most prominent.**

**The characters refer to Artemis as it, they, and he/him. This is because Artemis does not have a defined gender, but since it takes the form of a buck/stag, it is often referred to with masculine pronouns. **

**For more description of Violet and Artemis, please see the prequel to this story.**


	2. Chapter 2: Journey, Start

Violet sat on the soft grass at the edge of the pond, staring straight ahead at nothing. It was a cool morning; fall was on its way.

"_Do you remember her name?"_

Her ear twitched and she blinked, her trance broken. "Who?"

"_The one that sleeps in the great jewel…"_

Violet thought for a moment. "Polaris?"

"_Yes…Polaris. The star who grants wishes…She too awaits Malice's return."_

"She fought Malice using the Chaos Emeralds, didn't she? But all they could do was send Malice away."

"_Malice cannot be destroyed… Doing so would break the balance of all things. Light and dark…good and evil… One cannot exist without the other. It is all connected in a delicate balance. Be careful on your way… Corrupted spirits are appearing in this world. They are lost and cannot see my guiding light as they are now."_

Violet wanted to ask Artemis more about the corrupted spirits, but before she could, Rouge had appeared at her side and startled her. Violet jumped and looked as though she was going to summon her blade before a rush of embarrassment passed through her. "Rouge!"

"Sheesh, what's your problem? Are you really that nervous about going home?"

She turned away, face still hot with embarrassment. "There's nothing left there to call a home."

"Who were you talking to?"

Another rush of embarrassment. "Oh! Um, Artemis was speaking again. Just telling us to be careful. That's all."

Rouge eyed her suspiciously before deciding that it wasn't worth pressing for more information right now. "Well anyway, we'll be leaving soon. You sure you don't need to bring anything for the journey?"

"I have what I need," she replied.

"Hmph…that's the same thing he said."

Violet and Rouge met Shadow outside of the facility. Violet stared out at the direction they were to go. A vast open grass field stretched before them all the way to the horizon. She knew from maps that most of the way would consist of fields and deciduous forests, then more open fields until they reached cliffs that overlooked the sea. Far across the ocean were more cliffs and tall jagged mountains that barred the way to Tir na Nog. After getting to the other side of the mountains, they would face an ancient swamp that bordered Tir na Nog's ancient fog. Once they made their way through the fog, they would finally be in Tir na Nog itself.

She sighed. This was going to be a pain.

"Are you ready to go?" Shadow asked them.

Rouge nodded then looked to Violet. "You're sure you know how to get there?"

"Of course," Violet said as she walked forward. "Besides, Artemis will show the way if we happen to get lost. But we won't."

"You put a lot of faith into that being," Shadow remarked as they followed after the wolf.

"Artemis has always been there to guide us," she replied simply.

"So, does that mean he actually warned any of you about the attack that destroyed your clan?"

Violet halted.

Rouge stopped too and made a face. "Of all the things to ask…"

There was a long silence that lingered amongst them. Finally, Violet turned to face him, but to Rouge's surprise, and relief, she seemed very calm and matter of fact. "Yes, actually. However, it was the entire clan's sworn duty to protect Crann na Beatha. Unfortunately, being a very large tree, we couldn't just move it. And Artemis, no longer being a physical entity in this world, couldn't come to our aid." She turned away again. "Despite our efforts, the humans brought something that caught us completely off guard. Nonetheless, Crann na Beatha did not fall into their hands."

She took a few steps forward then stopped again and glanced over her shoulder. "Any other questions or rude remarks?"

He remained silent and watched her turn and walk away again. He didn't show it, but he felt bad. He had not intended for the question to sound the way it did, but still, he could not fully grasp why she trusted Artemis so fully.

After learning from Violet's stories about the entity, he began to wonder many things. If Artemis had left the world to return to the moon so long ago, that meant that Artemis was there when Shadow was created there. That meant that Artemis was there when the moon base was attacked. That meant that Artemis only watched, never appeared nor spoke, but watched as everything and everyone Shadow knew was destroyed. However, could Artemis have done anything? He at least could have warned them, couldn't he?

.

"_Beloved guardian…dearest child of my light…"_

Vincent was stretched out on his belly in the grass, asleep under the warm morning sun. His ears flicked as soft voices flowed around him like a slow stream. He yawned and turned over, not bothering to open his eyes. "Nope, it's naptime."

"_My precious guardian…you must return to Tir na Nog."_

He opened one eye then sat up and shook himself. "You mean back in the past present? Er, I mean, where Violet is?"

"_Yes… Your sister is already on her way. You must go too, and meet her there. My wisps must be collected before they fall in corrupted hands."_

"Hmm," Vincent tilted his head to the side as if in deep thought. "Mmm, okay. But only if I can bring Silver."

The voices chuckled. _"Do as you please my child. But know this…a great obstacle stands in your way. As your sister travels day and night, you will be lost on the mirage island that sometimes appears near Tir na Nog. Wait there until the island reveals itself again. You will see the great cliffs upon the horizon and recognize that as your destination. Remember…remain peaceful, for I will guide you."_

Vincent yawned loudly after the voices had faded away then got to his feet and stretched. "Okie doke. Let's see where Silver's gone off to."

.

"So," the white hedgehog looked at him. "We need to go to the past."

"Yup!" Vincent had only ever returned part of Silver's memories when they met up again. Silver knew about Vincent and Violet as well as their extinct clan and the Tree of Life. However, Vincent had thought it better not to return his memories of the timeline where Silver grew up in a world engulfed in fire and ruin. Though, he felt bad that it meant he couldn't return Silver's memories of his old friend Blaze.

"Good thing we have three Chaos Emeralds just laying around," Vincent grinned.

Silver shook his head. "They're not just laying around. We're supposed to make sure they don't end up in the wrong hands."

"I know," Vincent said. "It was a joke, sheesh. But anyway, we can use them to go back through time and space." He watched Silver thinking it over. "I mean, you don't have to come. I'll just go by myself and leave you all alone and bored. Only this time you won't be able to find me to complain that you're lonely or bored."

"I never said I was lonely!" Silver said indignantly.

"Good, then you should be fine while I go."

"Wait, what?"

Vincent turned and began to walk away. "Well, it was nice knowing you Silver. We had some great times, but heck, I might not ever come back. I mean, who knows what could happen?"

"Stop trying to make me feel bad," Silver followed after him. "I never said I wasn't coming."

Vincent laughed. He knew Silver didn't really like being alone, and ever since he managed to find the hedgehog again after the events with Solaris the two of them had never been more than a day apart.

.

Violet, Rouge, and Shadow had been traveling the better part of the day across the open grass fields. Violet led the way with Shadow several feet behind her while at some point, Rouge had taken to the air a few feet off the ground. It was after noon now, and no one had spoken since this morning which was starting to bother Rouge.

Finally, tired of the tension, she zipped forward and promptly landed in front of Violet who halted. "Oh, look," she said.

Violet turned to follow her gaze.

"We can just barely make out the GUN facility now," Rouge said. "Not bad for a leisurely walk." She shrugged and turned to walk at the head of the group. "How long do you think it will take to get there?"

"To Tir na Nog," Violet followed. "A while. Several fields and forests followed by the ocean. But you'll have split off before that point."

"The ocean? How are you planning to get across?"

"I'm hoping to find an old friend," Violet said. "Unless something bad happened to her, she should still be around."

"What do you mean?"

"When we were children, she got very sick," she explained. "She was dying. Her father brought her to my clan and begged my father to allow him to use the Tree of Life. Crann na Beatha, the Tree of Life, was the physical manifestation of Artemis's power of life and death."

"Right," Rouge nodded.

"Well, using something like that doesn't come without consequence. In order to give life, Crann na Beatha had to take a life. That taken life would be used to revive and or grant eternal life to another. Those granted with eternal life will no longer age, aside from children, who will age up to an adult and then stop completely."

"So, your clan let him use the Tree of Life?"

"Yes," Violet said. "But like I said, to return life to her, some one needed to give up their own. Her father gave his life to Crann na Beatha and in return it healed and gave his daughter life."

"Wow," Rouge said. "And you said that the tree's power is in you and your brother now, right?"

"Yes."

"That means you can give someone eternal life, or revive the recently deceased?"

Violet was quiet for a moment. "…Yes. I've never used it though. Besides, it's not like I can give someone eternal life by taking the life of a flower or an animal. They have to be of equal or greater value. And if I used it for the dead or dying, they would always end up with eternal life. There's no in between. It sounds nice, but living forever can be a gift and a curse all at once."

"I believe you," Rouge shrugged. "I just wanted to clear some things up is all. That kind of power sounds like a serious responsibility. Maybe even a burden when it comes to deciding on letting someone die or using that power to make them live forever."

"Mm," Violet agreed with her. "It's not like they'd be immune to dying. They just couldn't die from aging, since they wouldn't age. Besides, there's not many out there that have Crann na Beatha's life gift. The clan kept it a secret to avoid people trying to use it for bad or selfish reasons."

"Then how did those humans find out about it?" she was genuinely curious.

Violet only shook her head. "I have no idea. I mean, a few people close to the clan knew, and anyone who might have known about Artemis probably knew as well. Maybe it just slipped, but rumors about something like that are not much to go by. The bigger question is how they managed to actually find a way into Tir na Nog. The land is protected by a strange fog that causes intruders to lose their way until they turn back or perish. Only clan members knew the way. Anyone else would have had to been shown the way by Artemis."

"Well, from the way you talk about Artemis, I doubt it was him."

"Then one of the clan must have brought them there," Shadow said suddenly.

Violet paused a moment as if she suddenly remembered something then shook her head as if trying to force away a terrible thought. Rouge was looking at her, concerned. "It's nothing," Violet told her. "But…he might be right…"

**To be continued…**


	3. Chapter 3: The Wanderer

**Wow, I have like ten chapters of this already done but I've only uploaded two? Welp, here's number three I guess. Whoops.**

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Vincent watched calmly as Silver paced around, almost panicked by the situation. After using the Chaos Emeralds to travel through time, the two of them found themselves in a dense jungle, the emeralds nowhere in sight. It seemed that, for whatever reason, the three emeralds had dispersed during the event. Now, Silver was running around and talking to himself.

"I can't believe this," Silver said. "We don't even know where this is! Are we even in the right time? We're lost in a jungle with who knows what else that lives here!"

"Well just keep shouting," Vincent said as he sniffed at the air. "That will definitely make sure they don't find us."

"And the Chaos Emeralds disappeared!" Silver ignored him. "Why?!"

Vincent shrugged. "Beats me."

"How are you so calm about this?" Silver rounded on him. "We don't even know where or when we are!"

"I do," he told him. He smiled and said cheerily, "we're on the mirage island!"

"Island!?"

"Yup!"

"So we're stuck here?!"

"Yup!"

There was a pause then Silver shouted again. "You knew this was going to happen?!"

Vincent shrugged and laughed. "Artemis told me! Well, I didn't know that the Chaos Emeralds would take off, but I'm sure we'll find them eventually."

Silver looked utterly defeated. He threw up his arms and shook his head. "Why can't you ever explain these things BEFORE it happens?"

"Where's the fun in that? Relax, it's not so bad. Besides, Artemis said that the island will appear near our destination…eventually."

"What? When?"

Vincent turned away. "Um…eventually…"

"You don't know?! We could be stuck here for weeks!"

"Maybe longer!" Vincent smiled.

"Vincent!"

He flinched. "Okay, okay calm down. I doubt it'll be too long. I'm sure there's a reason we ended up here anyway." He sniffed at the air again. "Smell that? It's the ocean! Let's go check it out."

Before Silver could argue anymore, Vincent had begun walking through the jungle brush. The hedgehog sighed and followed after him. Vincent had an awful tendency to leave out very important details about places they went.

Silver kept his head down to watch that he didn't trip on any of the vines and clusters of roots that hid beneath bushes and leaves. The thought of a large jaguar possibly stalking silently after them waiting to pounce made him nervous. For some reason, he didn't care much for jaguars despite having never met one.

"Ah, there it is!" He heard Vincent say.

Silver looked up as he stepped out of the jungle and onto a beach. He stared out at the vast expanse of sparkling blue water that stretched around in all directions. "Wow," he said under his breath.

"Ugh, stupid sand." Vincent stepped across the beach as if it was painful. He stopped at the edge of the water and leaned forward, squinting. "Hmm, yup. Looks like we're moving. Verrrrrryyy slowly."

Silver went to his side and stared hard at the water. "How can you even tell? And how is this whole island moving anyway?"

Vincent smiled and straightened himself up. "The mirage island is actually alive! It's a spirit!"

"What?" Silver turned to look back at the huge jungle towering over them. "This whole island…is a spirit?"

"Yeah! Neat huh? We're actually on the back of a huge turtle! It's a sea spirit called the Wanderer, and it's the last of its kind."

"Really?" Silver looked at him. "It's all alone?"

"Well there are probably lots of wild animals and even other spirits that live in the jungle growing on its back. I wonder if it does get lonely?" He tilted his head as he examined the jungle. "The Wanderer travels the ocean, sometimes confusing the heck out of cartographers. No one really knows how it does it, but sometimes it just teleports itself somewhere completely different instead of swimming there. Tir na Nog is the birth place of the gods and the land of spirits, so every now and again the Wanderer suddenly appears near Tir na Nog."

"So," Silver said. "We have to wait for it to decide to visit its home?"

"Basically," Vincent shrugged.

"If it's a living thing then why don't we just ask it?"

"Eh, I don't think it can hear us. You'd have to get its attention somehow so it lifts its head from the water. It's a BIG turtle though, so anything you do probably won't faze it much."

"Do you remember seeing it when you lived there?"

"Of course!"

"How often did it appear?"

"At least once or twice a month," Vincent said. "Each time it would hang around for two, three days tops. You know, I can kind of sense the energy the Chaos Emeralds give off. I bet the turtle managed to keep at least one from going away so it could protect the emerald. Spirits are real fond of anything that comes from the gods."

"Then we should look for it," Silver said.

"Sure," Vincent nodded. "But the energy here is just as dense as the jungle. I don't think I'll be able to tell where it is." He shrugged again and started to head back towards the jungle. "Oh well. I'm sure we'll find it. In the meantime, let's find a place to call camp. Somewhere far away from all this sand."

"Is it a good idea to settle in the jungle? The beach might be better."

"Nope, not happening." Vincent said stubbornly. "No sand."

"Fine," Silver smirked a little. "At least the tree canopy can give shelter from the sun and rain."

.

Violet, Shadow, and Rouge had managed to make it to the edge of a forest just before nightfall. They had decided to stop and rest just outside of the forest until morning, as it may be too dark to go through at night.

Rouge was sleeping soundly, wrapped up in a blanket that Violet had produced from the stone on her necklace. Violet only had two, and Shadow had stubbornly refused the second one even after Violet had assured him that she didn't get cold easily.

Shadow was sitting with his back against the base of a large oak tree, arms crossed and eyes closed. He wasn't really asleep though, and was carefully listening to the sounds around him. For the most part, everything was peacefully silent. Every now and then a gentle breeze would shuffle through the tree leaves and there was a faint chirping of crickets coming from the forest behind him. Rarely, he could make out the distant hoots of an owl.

Feeling relaxed, he was close to actually falling asleep when the sound of quiet footsteps brought him back to consciousness. His eyes opened. Rouge was still asleep but Violet had gone. He blinked a few times then quietly stood up and looked around, spotting the wolf sitting on her knees on a distant hilltop.

Curious, he quietly walked over, stopping not far off from the base of the little hill. For a moment, he thought of asking what she was doing, but he kept silent upon noticing a tear fall from her face.

Violet was looking up at the stars twinkling upon the black canvas that was the sky. She hated crying, but she couldn't stop the few teardrops that managed to escape and land softly on the grass below. "Vale," she said sadly. "It really was you, wasn't it? But why? What happened to you?"

Vale? Shadow had never heard her mention that name before. Who could that possibly be? Another clan member perhaps? He turned to walk away but his footstep had frightened the nearby crickets and the insects all stopped chirping as a whole.

The sudden silence of the crickets and the wave of caution she felt from them caused Violet to turn around. She was surprised to see Shadow looking up at her. She carefully wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed. "What? Did you change your mind about that blanket?"

"No," he replied calmly. "I just came to see where you went."

"Why, are you worried?" she joked. She got to her feet and fixed her skirt before joining him at the bottom of the hill. Noticing him carefully watching her, she assured him, "I'll be fine. Let's go back."

.

Vincent was swinging slowly from a tangle of thick vines he had stretched across between two trees. He was casually strumming a little ukulele that he had carved using an old log and some flint.

They had gone back into the jungle and found a small area where the ground was mostly clear, and there was a gap in the canopy above that allowed moon and starlight to softly illuminate the area.

Silver had gone off earlier to try and find the Chaos Emerald that was supposedly around, but he didn't have any luck. He returned to the clearing, stumbling out of the bushes and angrily shaking off a stubborn plant that clung to his boot.

"Did you do _anything _while I was gone?" he nagged at Vincent.

"Of course!" Vincent showed him the instrument. "I made a ukulele!" He strummed his claws across the strings, loving the sound they made. "I also started making a hammock. It's a work in progress."

"How do either of those things help us?"

"Hey," Vincent said. "Hammocks are great so you don't have to sleep on the ground!"

"And the ukulele?" Silver crossed his arms.

"Music is good for the soul," the wolf smiled and continued strumming.

Silver shook his head.

"Relax," Vincent told him. "We're here now, might as well get comfy. Maybe some music will help you calm down." He started strumming a catchy tune.

"I don't want to hear that," Silver huffed.

"Okay, maybe this one," Vincent changed the tune and jumped onto the ground. He started dancing, twirling around like he was dancing with the ukulele as another person and singing to the tune. "Wwwwwhen the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie that's…amore~!"

"Vincent…" Silver watched him dancing around, trying to hide his amusement.

"Whennnn the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine that's…amore~!" Vincent continued.

"Okay Vincent, I get it."

"Bells will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-ling. And you'll say, Vita Bella~! Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay. Like a gay tarantella~!" Vincent stopped briefly beside him. "Come on, dance with me!"

"I'm not going to dance with you," Silver smirked and lightly pushed him away.

Vincent smiled brightly. "Fine, suit yourself! When the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool, that's…amore~! When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet, you're in loovvve!"

"At least your singing sounds good," Silver teased. "Otherwise something might come and eat us." He watched, amused, as Vincent kept playing and singing in the starlight.

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Vincent can be so cheesy. I love that song, though.**

**So, a few things here. First, Silver's paranoia about jaguars is a reference to the first story. Second, the Wanderer (giant island turtle) is a slight reference to the Lion Turtles from Avatar the Last Airbender. :) Third, Vale is extremely significant to the story; however, he will not be mentioned or even referenced to again until later. So don't forget him!**


	4. Chapter 4: Stumbling

Violet touched a finger to the stone on her necklace and produced a small box wrapped up in a dark green cloth. She carefully placed it on the ground then took the blankets in hand. She held them for a moment before letting go as they disappeared into the stone without a trace.

"How does that work anyway?" Rouge stretched her arms up with a contented yawn.

"It's a secret," Violet teased. She tugged at the cloth wrapped around the box and it came undone. The little box fell open to reveal neatly placed pastries and fruits.

"You _did _pack for the journey!" Rouge mocked surprise and took one of the pastries. "Say, is there a limit to how many things you can put in there?"

"The moonstone?" Violet said absently as she picked up an orange. "I'm not sure. But I try not to put too much considering there's a…tenant living in it."

Rouge took notice of Shadow standing several feet away and staring into the forest. "Hey," she called. "You should eat, too."

He merely glanced over his shoulder at them before stating, "No. I'm not hungry," and turning away again.

"You will be," Rouge muttered. "Suit yourself!"

Violet glanced over at him curiously. Last night, he had found Violet upset and alone, and she was sure he had likely heard her talking to herself about Vale. But once the two of them had returned to their resting spot just outside the forest they simply returned to their places and went to sleep. Neither of them had mentioned it since, and, quite frankly, Violet was very happy that he didn't ask about Vale.

"We'll try to get through this forest before nightfall," Violet said after they had finished their breakfast. "Let's go."

.

"Can't you ever relax?" Vincent asked as he bit into a large fruit he had salvaged from the trees. He was pretty positive that Silver had not slept well, or at all, the previous night. Now, the hedgehog was once again heading out to search for the Chaos Emerald that was hiding somewhere on the island.

"Can't you ever take anything seriously?" Silver retaliated.

Vincent shrugged. "Only for about two minutes before I get stressed out."

Silver rolled his eyes and started to head for the bushes. "Fine. Stay here then. I'll find the emerald on my own."

Vincent chose to ignore the spite in his voice. "Okay~!" he said in a singsong voice. "Watch out for scorpions!"

It took a few moments for it to register to Silver what Vincent had just said. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and turned to look back at him. "Scorpions don't live in the jungle."

Vincent laughed. "I was wondering if you'd get that." He watched as Silver turned away again and took a step into the bushes. "Nah," the wolf said casually. "It's tarantulas you need to look out for."

Silver froze, one foot forward, and stood there for several moments as if processing. Vincent watched him with a smirk as Silver tensely continued into the jungle without another word.

.

The forest was relatively quiet and peaceful, aside from the chirping and whistling of birds hiding amongst the trees. The trees were not clustered, allowing the sky to be seen between large gaps in the leaves above, and there was miniscule vegetation on the ground. Instead, the ground was covered by a thick layer of fallen pine needles and the air was thick with the fresh scent of them.

"This is pretty nice, hm?" Rouge said.

"Yes," Violet nodded her agreement. She greatly enjoyed the songs of the birds as they flitted about building their nests. Several times her gaze would trail after a squirrel carrying bundles of nesting materials or mouthfuls of food, and each time she would quickly snap her gaze forward again upon noticing Shadow turning to see what she was looking at.

"And what do you think?" Rouge often tried to include him in their conversations.

Shadow merely eyed a large squirrel as it scooted up to a hole in one of the trees, but he didn't respond to her question. At this, Rouge rolled her eyes but didn't bother to ask him anything else for now.

Violet's ear twitched and she stopped to stare at a rabbit that had suddenly ceased what it was doing. The rabbit had lifted its head, ears alert and eyes wide, its body completely frozen; not even its nose was twitching. The birds had gone silent and all of the squirrels dropped their supplies and darted into hiding places.

"What's wrong?" Rouge asked her.

"Ssh," she quickly shushed her and listened carefully. "None of the animals were bothered by our presence," she said in a hushed tone. "But they've suddenly become frightened."

Violet shared the animals' anxiousness. Something was wrong, but what? Then, she could make out the sounds of something trampling through the needles at full speed. Something large and panicked, moving as if it didn't know where to go.

"What is that!?" Rouge gasped.

A large dark creature was bolting through the needles and heading in their direction. Larger than them, with bristly fur standing on end, the animal let out a snorting squeal as it zigzagged closer, the trampling of its hooves echoing loudly now.

"Wild boar!" Violet shouted. They had to jump out of the way as the animal came barreling by without slowing. "Wait," Violet turned sharply. She had caught a glimpse of something as it passed. "It's hurt!"

"So?" Rouge was flabbergasted. "It almost bulldozed us!"

Another horrific squeal pulled their attention back to the boar. It had stopped running suddenly, causing it to slide as it turned back to face them. In the moment that it had done this Violet could make out a broken tusk, several thick, sharp objects pierced into its hide and trailing blood, as well as something wrapped tightly around one of its hindlegs.

Blinded by fear and pain, the boar let out another snarling squeal and charged at them, head lowered and tusks pointed forward. Before either of the girls could react, Shadow had thrown a hefty kick to the side of the animal's head which sent it crashing onto its side.

"Stop!" Violet shouted before Shadow moved again. He looked back at her with a mix of confusion and shock for a moment before standing up straight. Violet hurried over to the collapsed boar and looked it over with great sadness.

The wounds from its piercings were bleeding profusely and the chain around its leg was so tight that it was digging into the flesh. The animal was letting out short, heavy breaths as it now lay too exhausted to move anymore. It squealed loudly and tried to thrash its head around as Violet got nearer.

"It's okay," she said softly and began to gently stroke its face. "What happened to you?" She stared into its eyes, her expression darkening as she listened. "Don't worry," she sat beside the dying animal and continued to stroke it. "Go to sleep now, and you won't hurt anymore. I promise."

She stayed there listening to its broken breaths and soothing the boar as its eyes drooped shut. Several quiet minutes passed, each breath getting shorter, until it let out a final sigh and lay completely still.

Shadow had gone over to examine the now lifeless boar. He eyed the spears in its body with great suspicion. "Poachers?"

"Something like that," Violet said darkly. With a last pat on the boar's head, she stood up and briskly walked in the direction that the boar had come from.

.

Vincent had finally finished weaving together a hammock with vines and stepped back to examine his work. He leaned over it for a moment to prune a few small leaves then leapt onto the hammock like a child. It swung a bit from the force but held strongly. He rolled over onto his back.

"Nice," Vincent was pleased with his work. He laid there staring up at the clouds passing over the gap in the trees and listening to bird calls. Come to think of it, there had been no sign of Silver for a while. It had been a few hours since the hedgehog had gone off, and the afternoon was swiftly approaching. Vincent sighed, climbed out of the hammock, and then stretched pleasurably. "Ahh, I guess I should go look for him."

.

Silver liked the forest, but the jungle, not so much. There were far too many large bushes and thick roots that curled above ground just waiting to trip someone. The jungle was also much darker than an ordinary forest, even in the middle of the day, which made it even harder to notice some of the vines and roots sprawled across the ground. He was just thinking of heading back when one of these hidden roots caught his foot and he fell forward with a yelp.

With a groan, mostly of annoyance, he tried to push himself up with his hands. He froze as something snapped beneath him, and before he could make another move, the dead roots and leaves gave way and he fell again.

He kicked his legs as he felt something wrap around him then stopped upon realizing that he was now completely entangled in thick vines and hanging over a dark pit. He looked over his shoulder down at the seemingly bottomless pit then he looked up at the top of it. He was a little surprised at how far he had fallen, and so quickly.

He couldn't free his legs and arms, and even using his psychokinesis was proving quite futile in the situation. Every time he tried to use it on the vines, it only seemed to pull them tighter. He sat there, stuck in the cluster of vines, wondering what to do now. If he called for help, what were the chances that Vincent would even hear him?

Vincent stepped lightly around and over foliage and roots as he looked around. "Silver?" he called. "Hellooo?"

"_Hello..." _A quiet whisper replied from somewhere.

Vincent stopped and looked around with his eyes only. "Um, hi? Are you a spirit?"

"_Yes…"_

"Where are you?" he relaxed and glanced around.

"_Where are you?"_

"Me? I'm…right here. Can you see me?"

"_No…" _the quiet whisper said. _"I cannot see."_

Vincent glanced around wildly, trying to locate the source of the voice. He turned and looked up to see a strange and tiny bat-like spirit hanging upside-down from a branch. It was a very pale gray, small, and had very large triangular ears. It had a long furry tail that was wrapped around the branch, a flat pointed nose, and no eyes. "Ah," Vincent said. "There you are!"

"_Here I am…" _it tilted its head at his voice. _"You smell like the moon spirit."_

"Artemis? Yeah, I bet! Hey, have you, uh, smelled a hedgehog anywhere?"

"_What do they smell like?"_

"Er…" Vincent was a little thrown off by that question. He never bothered to pay attention to what Silver smelled like. "I don't know…a hedgehog?" He thought for a moment. "He probably smells frustrated?"

The spirit tilted its head the other way.

"No? Okay then…have you _heard _anything? Anything uncommon for this place?"

"_I heard music last night… But today I heard someone shout. It sounded like they fell."_

"For someone who can fly, he sure trips a lot," Vincent mused. "What direction did the shout come from? Do you know?"

The fluffy little spirit tilted its head from side to side a few times as if thinking then angled its ears forward and to the left. _"Somewhere…over there."_

Vincent glanced in the direction it had indicated. "Thanks cutie!" He headed off.

The little spirit wiggled in its place, pleased with the compliment.

Silver was sitting, even more entangled in the vines than before, and fuming over the fact that he couldn't get out. He found himself wondering what Vincent was doing at that moment. Would he go looking for Silver?

He sighed and leaned his head against a vine. After a few moments, he could make out something moving along the dark walls of the pit. A large, hairy spider, about the size of the palm of his hand, crawled onto one of the thick vines that was wrapped around his left ankle. A slight chill crept across Silver's spine as it crawled closer.

"Hey!" he shouted at it. "Don't come over here!"

The spider paused a moment, twitching its mandibles curiously, then started to crawl towards him once more.

"No, no!" He tried to shake the vine by kicking his foot, but the spider was undaunted. It paused a mere few inches from his foot and peered around it to look at him. "Don't you dare!" Silver snapped.

"Silver?"

Surprised, Silver looked up and was immensely relieved to see Vincent peering over the top of the pit. "Vincent!"

Vincent chuckled. "How did you do _that_?!"

"Just get me out of here!" His face suddenly went hot with embarrassment.

"Hmm, I don't know…" Vincent leaned back as if contemplating. "You haven't been very nice to me lately."

"Vincent!" Silver tried to kick the spider away.

"Even now you're just yelling at me… Even before we came to this island you had been edgy as of late."

"I-" Silver cut himself off. He hadn't realized how he had been acting, but now that he heard it, he realized that it was true. However, he wasn't entirely sure why he had been feeling that way. He had an idea, but it was a strange one, and out of fear and embarrassment he wasn't going to tell Vincent. "I'm sorry…" he said then started to panic again as he noticed the spider once again.

"Hm, I guess that'll do," Vincent said. He leaned over the edge and curled one of his overgrown claws against the base of one of the vines. "Make sure you catch yourself!"

"Huh?" Before anything else could be said, he heard the vine snap and all of the ones around him gave way. He shouted in surprise then quickly caught himself midfall and levitated up.

"Sorry little spider!" Vincent called into the pit as the spider crawled back along the wall.

"Little!?" Silver looked at Vincent as if he had just said something offensive.

.

Rouge and Shadow followed Violet along the blood strewn path that the boar had taken. She was walking rather quickly and hadn't said a word since they left the deceased animal behind. Suddenly, she halted and Rouge almost walked into her.

"What now?"

"Do you smell that?" Violet asked.

"It's smoke," Shadow said from behind.

They kept quiet as they carefully moved closer. They could now make out the sounds of laughter and people talking accompanied by the occasional screech of an animal in pain.

They found themselves peering over a slope that led down into a sort of bowl-shaped area below. There were a couple of makeshift lean-tos comprised of large branches all surrounding a large campfire. On one side of the camp was a tall wooden pole where three wild starving coyotes where bound tightly.

A handful of human men were laughing and prodding at the animals with spears. Some even taunted them with pieces of cooked meat before tossing just out of the animals' reach.

"Jerks," Rouge muttered. "What are they doing that for?"

"Some people are just that," Violet said quietly, "jerks."

Shadow eyed something hiding in the back of one of the lean-tos. "They look like bandits."

Violet glanced around then smirked. "I have an idea."

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Ok, so apparently I lied in the last one and Vale was mentioned in this one. But no more! So don't forget!**

**Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious (it probably wasn't) Silver kinda has a thing for his friend Vincent. But he doesn't want to admit it. Needless to say, if you got a problem with that (or you have any kind of homophobia), get lost. It's happening. It's my story. Lol. **

**Honestly, I don't view any of the characters as homosexual or anything else. They don't think about things like that. It's just not a strange thing in their world. You like who you like. That's the kind of world being portrayed here. So, really there is no "homosexuality" or any labels as such.**


End file.
